The Defence Ministers of India and Singapore have said that maritime disputes in the South China Sea should be resolved peacefully and according to international laws. They were speaking at Asia's biggest security summit yesterday. The ongoing South China Sea dispute is among the issues set to dominate the Shangri-La Dialogue, which started yesterday, with China and several Southeast Asian states laying claims on the territory. Speaking to the media after the first Singapore-India Defence Ministers' Dialogue, the Ministers added that there should be freedom of navigation when it comes to international waters.<br/><br/>Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said its stance on the South China Sea disputes remains the same, that countries involved should settle them through discussion and not via forceful actions. He also said India will engage individual countries in the east through its Act East policy. Speaking in Singapore ahead of the summit's meetings, US Senator John McCain expressed concerns about the consequences if China rejects an upcoming United Nations ruling on the dispute.<br/><br/>The US delegation at the dialogue is being led by Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and the Chinese delegation is led by its Deputy Chief of General Staff Sun Jianguo.